Support for musical performers



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E. VINBRUEX & G. O. SOBINSKI. SUPPORT FOR MUSICAL PERFORMERS.

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E. VINBRUEX & O. 0. SOBINSKI. SUPPORT FOR MUSICAL PERFORMERS.

No. 564,667. Patented July 28, 1896.

UNITED STATES EGIDIUS VINBRUEX AND CHARLES O PATENT. OFFICE.

. SOBINSKI, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

SUPPORT FOR MUSICAL PERFORMERS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 564,667, dated July 28, 1896.

Application filed October '7, 1 8 9 5.

To all whom it m/oty concern:

Be it known that we, EGIDIUS VINBRUEX and CHARLES O. SOBINSKI, citizens of the United States, residing at St. Louis, in the ments in devices for supporting the back and arms of musical performers, especially of beginners on the pianoforte, and consists in the novel arrangement and combination of parts more fully set forth in the specification and pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a top plan view of our invention. Fig. 2 is a side elevation thereof. Fig. 3 is a side elevation of amodified form of clamp for securing the device to a chair. Fig. 4 is an inside view of the cup forming the support for the back. Fig 5 is an inside view of the cover for said cup. Fig. 6 is an end view of the adjustable bar held by the clamp carried by the casting, which is ordinarily screwed to the bottom of the stool on which the performer sits. Fig. 7 is a section on 00 00, Fig. 1, taken through one of the joints of the toggle member of the oscillating arms. Fig. 8 is a top plan view of the plate with its antifri'ction rollers mounted thereon, and which forms the pivot for the toggle member of the oscillating arm. Fig. 9 is a middle section taken through the plate and its revolving disk on the line y y of Fig. 1, and Fig. 10 is a bottom plan view of the revolving disk mounted on the plate.

The object of our invention is to construct a device which shall act as a prop or support for the back and arms of musical beginnersthat is, a prop by means of which the arms and back of the person performing on a piano, organ, or similar instrument shall be partially supported in the act of or during the operation of playing, whereby the tendency of the beginner to allow his hands to droop, his arm to bend at the elbow or hang loosely from the shoulder, or, on the other hand, to stoop forward, shall be reduced to a minimum. To this end we have devised a combined back and arm support, which can be Serial No. 664,876. (No model.)

attached to a piano-stool or other stationary fixture, and which in detail maybe described as follows:

Referring to the drawings, 1 represents a casting which can be secured to the bottom of a stool or chair 2, (see' Fig. 2,) said casting having secured thereto an angular clip 3, between which and a corresponding depression in the casting is adapted to be held a ribbed supporting arm or bar 4:, the free end of which is adapted to adjustably support the upwardly-extending and suitably-curved bracket 5, whose upper end carries or has secured thereto the hollow cup 6, forming the main support for the back of the performer, who may be seated in the stool 2. Forming a part of the cup and located diametrically opposite one another are the semispherical sockets 7 of a universal ball-and-socket joint, to be afterward more particularly referred to. The cover-plate 8 for the cup 6 has formed integrally the registering semispherical sockets 7 for the joint above referred to. The balls 9 of each of said joints have each an inwardly-extending arm 10 projecting into the hollow of the cup, the adjacent ends of the arms having secured thereto the cross-pieces 11, the free end of each of which is secured to the opposite ends of a coiled spring 12, the medial portion of each spring being secured to the inner surface of the peripheral wall 13 of the cup by means of a staple ll. Extending outwardly from each ball 9 and in continuation of the arms 10 are the lever-arms 15, along each of which may be clamped at any convenient point a plate 16, having a central outwardly-projecting screw-threaded stem or bolt 17, over which is passed a hollow interiorly-threaded screw or sleeve l8,whose outer smooth surface forms the stationary spindle for the revolving member or disk 19, previously passed over the screw, the disk 19 beingraised a suitable distance above the plate 16 by a central annular shoulder 20, whereby a chamber 21 is formed between. the Plate and disk, the outer edge of the chamber being covered by the depending flange 22, forming a part of the disk 19.

Loosely embracing the shoulder 20, and located within the chamber 21, is a band 23, the periphery of which has secured thereto a series of radiating pins or arms 24, which form the stationary spindles for the revolving antifriction rollers 25, over which the disk 1 9 freely travels or revolves on top of the plate 16, the

- rollers being of sufficient diameter to keep the base of the shoulder 20 out of contact -with said plate. Forming part of the disk 19 and located over the depression 26, designed for the reception of the screw 18, is a perforated clamping-arm 27, (perforated to allow for the passage of a screw-driver to operate the screw 18,) between which and the body portion of the disk is adapted to be clamped the rear member 28 of a toggle-jointed arm 29. The forward member 30 of said togglejointed arm has adjustably and pivotally clamped to the free end thereof an. arm 31 for the support of the forearm of the performer, the forward end of said arm 31 being provided with a wristband 32 and an intermediate spring member the latter being designed as a cushion or rest for that part of the forearm between the wrist and the elbow. The wristband and member 33 are secured to the end of the arm 31 by bending what is the outward continuation 3a of the member and inserting it into the slit end of said arm 31. (See Fig. 2.)

The joints of the toggle-jointed arm are made by securing the toggle members by a screw-threaded bolt 35, one of the members being carried by the screw-threaded portion of the bolt and the other member being interposed between said member and the under surface of the head of the bolt and embracing the smooth portion of the same, the adjacent surfaces of the several parts having suitable depressions 36 formed therein for the reception of the ball-bearings 39. \Vhen it is desired to clamp the casting 1 to a vertical member of any chair or other stationary piece of furniture rather than to the bottom of the stool, I secure to each of the arms of the casting 1 a supplemental casting 4:0, between whose arms 41 the vertical member #12 of a chair can be firmly embraced and the several parts above described be thus supported. The free ends of the lever-arms 15 have adjustably clamped thereto suitable clips i3, the free end of the clamping-bolt 1st serving as a stop to arrest the oscillation. of the member 28, pivoted about the plate 16. The pivotal clamp 45, carried by the free end of the member 30, allows the arm 31 to be ad justably held thereon in any position; but any undue oscillation of said arm is limited by the stop 46, carried by the member 30 adjacent to the pivoted clamp 15, the stop 46 being adapted to be struck by the short member of the arm 31.

The operation of the device is as follows: A person seated on the piano-stool, to the back of which the present device is clamped, rests his back against the outer surface of the cup 0 and places his forearm along the supportingarm 31, so that the band 32 shall encircle the wrist of the performer. The arm 31 thus serves to support the entire forearm of the performer. In performing on the piano, or-

gan, or other instrument, the toggle-jointed arm 29 permits the performer to sweep at pleasure his hands over the keyboard and atthe same time compels him to hold his arms in proper position and at the same time to sit erect in front of the instrument. The device may be used for a length of time until the performer learns to have complete control of his arms and learns to assume an erect position before the instrument. The tendency with beginners is to stoop excessively and allow their hands to hang and their arms to bend unduly at the elbow, all of which is prevented by the use of my present improve ment. The member 28 of course freely oscillates about the plate 10, which may be clamped to any position along the lever-arm 15 to suit the performer, as also may it be clamped to give the toggle-jointed member 29 and arm 31, carried by it, any suitable inclination. The greater the inclination the greater, of course, will be the load the arms 31 will carry and the greater the consequent lateral strain on the springs 12 at the inner ends of the arms 10, which springs 12, as is obvious from the construction, serve to restore to their normal position the arms 15, as the latter freely yield by the ball-and-socket joint arrangement in the cup 6, within which they are mounted, to the variable strains to which said arms are subjected.

Having described our invention, what we claim is 1. In a prop or support for musical perfornv ers, a suitable prep for the back of the performer adapted to be secured to the stool, suitable oscillating arms for the support of the forearms of the performer, and yielding connections between the oscillating arms and the prep for the back, substantially as set forth.

2. In a prop or support for musical performers, a suitable prep for the back composed of a suitable hollow cup, a cover-plate for the same, suitable lever-arms projecting diamet rieally outward from the cup and having in nor extensions or arms extending into the hollow of the cup, at ball-and-soeket joint formed in said cup for said arms, and suitable springs eonnecting the inner adjacent ends of the extensions with the innerperipheral wall of the cup, substantially as set forth.

In a prop or support for musical performers, a suitable prep for the back, yielding arms extending outwardly therefrom, oscillating supporting-arms adjustable along said yielding arms, and means for limiting the oscillation of said supporting-anus, substantially as set forth.

1. In a prop or support for musical performers, a suitable support for the back an oscillating arm comprising a toggle-jointed member, a rear member pivoted at one end, a forward member, and a forearm-supporting arm pivotally carried by the free end of the forward member, and suitable connections between said back-support and oscillating arm substantially as set forth.

5. In a prop or support for musical performers, a toggle-jointed arm comprising a series of toggle-jointed members, a screw-threaded bolt having a smooth portion and a head securing any pair of members together, one member being held by the screw-threaded portion of the bolt, and the second member embracing the smooth portion, suitable depressions formed along the adjacent surfaces of the members and the head of the screw, and ballbearings confined within said depressions, and a forearm-supporting extension or arm forming a part of said jointed arm substantially as set forth.

6. In a prop or support for musical performers, suitable yielding arms, a plate adj ustably clamped to each arm, a central screw-threaded stem projecting from the upper surface thereof, a hollow screw adapted to be passed over said stem, a disk having a central annular shoulder adapted to pass over said hollow screw and revolve about the same, a chamber formed between the plate and disk, an annular band within the chamber embracing the annular shoulder, arms projecting radially outward from said band, antifriction-rollers mounted at the ends of said arms, and adapted to support the disk, a depending peripheral flange forming a part of the disk and adapted to cover the edge of the chamber, and a clamp forming a part of the disk, and adapted to hold one end of a suitable oscillating arm, substantially as set forth.

7. In a prop or support for musical performers, a suitable forearm-supporting arm, means for pivoting one end thereof, a wristband carried at one end of the same, and a springcushioning member for the fore part of the forearm, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof we affix our signatures in presence of two witnesses.

EGIDIUS VINBRUEX. CHAS. O. SOBINSKI. \Vitnesses:

ALFRED A. MATHEY, E. STAREN. 

